What are my rights if I am arrested?
1. An officer who wants to ask you questions other than your name and address must advise you that you have a right not to answer the questions.
2. You have the right to be told why you are being arrested and the nature of the charges against you (the crime for which you are being arrested). If you are arrested on a warrant, you have the right to see the warrant within a reasonable time after your arrest, to read it and make certain your name appears on it, and to see the charge against you.
3. You have the right to be told your constitutional rights (“Miranda” rights) before being questioned following your arrest. These Miranda rights are:
- The right to remain silent and not answer any questions;
- The right to know that if you waive (give up) your right to remain silent and do answer questions, the police can use your answers against you in court;
- The right to stop answering questions at any time and talk with an attorney, even if you have begun to answer questions; and
- The right to speak privately with an attorney before answering any questions or signing anything.
- If you cannot afford an attorney and if the crime that prompted your arrest has jail time as a possible penalty, you also have a right to have an attorney appointed to represent you at no cost to you before being questioned, and to have that attorney with you during any questioning to which you may later agree to submit.
You CANNOT be penalized for refusing to answer an officer’s questions. If you try to cooperate by answering questions while you are being held in police custody, you may create difficulties for your lawyer in defending you. ALWAYS ASK TO SPEAK TO A LAWYER.
4. You also have the right to:
- Contact, by telephone or otherwise, a responsible person, to tell him or her you have been arrested and what the charges are. You are not limited to one telephone call if more calls are needed to contact someone.
- Refuse any physical or chemical test (such as a polygraph “lie detector,” breathalyzer, intoxilizer, field sobriety tests or physical performance tests such as walking a straight line or making other movements, the look-at-the-pen test, or mental ability tests like reciting the alphabet or doing math), until you can talk to your lawyer.
- Have your attorney present at any line-up or other identification procedure in which you are viewed by possible eyewitnesses to a crime.
- Reasonable bail or bond to secure your release from jail unless you are charged with a capital crime. Usually a judge sets the bail or conditions of your release. If you are charged with a misdemeanor, and if no judge is available, the police may, at police headquarters, accept bail in accordance with rules established by the judge.
- Be brought before a court as soon as is reasonably practicable after your arrest, so that you can request a preliminary hearing to test the basis of your arrest and/or trial to determine your guilt or innocence.
If I am arrested, what will the police do?
The police will search you for weapons, handcuff you, transport you to jail, and photograph and fingerprint you for identification.
If you are not under arrest or if police do not have a search warrant (a court order allowing them to search), the police may ask you to let them search your car, your home and/or other possessions. You can refuse to consent to these searches.
You have a right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Most of the searches for which an officer might ask your consent would require the officer to first get a warrant from a judge, unless you consent and give up this right.
Only a judge can decide whether the search is proper before that search is conducted. There is no penalty for exercising your right to have the judge decide whether to allow the search. Your refusal to consent to a search cannot be used against you.
If you are unsure how to respond to an officer’s request, assert your right to counsel and discuss the request with your attorney before doing or saying anything.
Since July 1, 2011, Ohio law has required that a law enforcement agency must collect and forward a DNA specimen to the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation when the agency arrests a person 18 years or older for a felony.
If you or someone you know has been arrested and needs representation, contact Skip Potter to help assist you with your case.
